Emil Dominik Josef Hácha (12 July 1872 - 27 June 1945) was a respected Czechoslovakian lawyer, politician and president of Czechoslovakia before and during the Nazi occupation.
Before his presidency he was a councillor of SSD (Správní soudní dvůr), president of NNS (Nejvyšší správní soud) he also participated in founding and member of arbitration court of Haag.
President of Protectorate
After the abdication of Edward Beneš in September of 1938, Hácha, firstly reluctant, eventually accepted the presidential seat.
Half year later was Hácha invited to an audience by Adolf Hitler in Berlin, where he was met with Führer's ultimatum of occupation of Czechoslovakia and was forced to inform government and ensure capitulation of Czechoslovakian army. Hácha firstly tried to convince Hitler and delay the ultimatum, but was ultimately forced to submit when Hermann Göring threatened him with bombing of Prague.
After anti-occupation student demonstration, where around 1000 students were arrested and sent in concentration camps, Hácha, under political concessions, succeeded in convincing Reich to free most of them.
Hácha lost most of his political and diplomatic power after arrival of Reinhard Heydrich and his assumption of post of Reich-Protector, whose first "Heydrichiade" Hácha vainly tried to stop, or at least alleviate.
After events that happed in next year, including execution of his friend and premier of Czechoslovakia, Alois Eliáš, second Heydrichiade, that come after successful operation Anthropoid, which caused death of many people and slaughter of two villages, Lidice and Ležáky, and his contraction of Atherosclerosis, Hácha was left weak mentally and physically, unable to make any political decision and do anything other than broadcasting Nazi propaganda until the liberation of Czechoslovakia by Allies and the Soviet Union.
After the downfall of Third Reich he was transferred into Pankrác prison as a Nazi collaborator, where he died soon after.